Metamorphis:Life Cycle of Butterflies

Mr. HguyenWednesday, June 15, 2011

Metamorphis Life Cycle of Butterflies

• Eggs are the first stage.

• They are tiny, sometimes microscopic.

• They are laid on the underside of host plant leaves.

• Hatching is predetermined by time eggs are laid.

Caterpillars The Feeding Stage

• Minute, some are virtually invisible to the naked eye.

• Coloration of caterpillar is quite diverse.

• The job of caterpillars is to eat, eat, eat.

• Caterpillars must shed skin several times, each shedding is called an instar.

• It can multiply in size of more than a thousand fold.

• When the final instar occurs, the pupa emerges.

Pupa The Transition Stage

• Transformation in pupa stage is miraculous.

• What emerges in no way resembles the caterpillar.

• There is complete disassembly of the cells and reassembling of cells into new form.

• The butterfly emerges from this stage.

Adult Butterfly The Reproductive Stage

• Upon emerging, the swollen body pumps fluid into tiny shrived up wings.

• Within a few hours, wings are fully sized, dried, and become more rigid.

• Butterflies are ready to take flight.

• The job of the adult is to mate and lay eggs.

• Most butterflies live only one or two weeks.

All photographs courtesy of The Academy of Natural Sciences http://www.ansp.org/museum/butterflies/life_cycle.php